Oscar Folk Collection

Buddy Folk grew up in Greenville SC during the time of the Great Depression and WW II, and majored in Business Administration at Furman University where he was inspired by mentor, Charles Blackwood, to make a career of his interest in art. Primarily due to Blackwood’s encouragement, Folk decided to attend art school after Furman. He applied and was accepted at both Cooper Union and Pratt Institute but opted to focus on commercial design at Pratt. After graduation in 1956, he worked as an industrial designer for companies such as Univac Corporation and IBM, first as an employee and later on a freelance basis, while maintaining a private studio on Shelter Island for personal artistic expression.

Eventually, Folk moved to Los Angeles where he managed what later became the prestigious Beverly Hills Art Gallery and then embarked on a series of travels across Europe and France in the late 1960's. Following Europe, Buddy moved back to New York where he joined the New York Art Scene of the early 1970's and subsequently became involved in the East Village art scene of the early 1980's. Following this time, Buddy moved back to Greenville to care for his father who had become seriously ill - setting up a studio where he produced silkscreen prints and paintings. From that point on, he concentrated solely on painting, creating abstracts inspired by his travels and developing and using techniques which influenced many of the artists work in the area. After his father’s death, Buddy remained in Greenville where he lived until his recent death.

About the Work:

"I listened to music while I painted, which sometimes influenced my art. The reason I like abstract art so much is because it relates more to music. There is nothing more abstract than music.

You can’t make up new forms. All forms are based on things that already exist, that we have already seen. I’m just giving them new meaning, seeing them from a different viewpoint. Even though my paintings are abstract, they’re still definite images, entities. They’re real, not surreal - they’re just abstract. They are suggestions of forms."